


Cat Person or Dog Person?

by LapisLazuli13



Series: My Other X-Nico fictions [4]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Animals, Confusing!Percy, Cute, Husky!Nico, I'm so done with my life, M/M, Maine Coon!Jason, Multi, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Yep I have another idea, i'm such a sinner
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-27 10:17:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15022451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LapisLazuli13/pseuds/LapisLazuli13
Summary: Jason wants to build shrines for all the gods in Greek Mythology. Nico offers to help him. Neither of them thinks of a possible consequence like that before.And Percy Jackson is just plain confusing.





	Cat Person or Dog Person?

**Author's Note:**

> The trope that Jason’s like a dog (mostly golden retriever), and Nico’s like a cat is pretty popular, so I want to do something else.

#  **Cat Person or Dog Person?**

***

##  **_Chapter 1: The unexpected reaction._ **

…

“So… she doesn’t want our help.” A Maine Coon with fluffy golden, white and black fur spoke after a long, thick silence. For any other people or even animals, it sounded like just some meaningless meow and hissed noises.

“Obviously,” a Husky snorted in reply, it’s clear that he understood the cat. He had thick black-and-white fur that’s typical for the dog breed.

“But that’s a little bit exaggerative,” the cat sighed, gesturing at their bodies. “Do you think so?”

“Only “a little bit”?” The Husky retorted. “I _totally_ think so.”

The cat hid his face behind a paw. “Okay, I’m sorry. It’s too exaggerative. She shouldn’t do that.”

“The damage is done,” the Husky snapped, baring his teeth. “And what did you expect anyway? Even she’s a minor goddess, she’s still a goddess. Our ancient Greek deities have a penchant for being overdramatic.”

“I’m truly sorry for dragging you into this mess.” The Maine Coon winced.

“Hey, don’t talk like that,” the Husky’s tone softened. “I was willing to go with you. It’s just not like we thought about that possibility before.”

“We need to find a way to fix that,” the cat nodded. “I can’t feel the connection with my powers when I’m in this form, and we certainly don’t want to be some snacks for monsters, but I doubt that we smell too different in our human forms anyway.”

“We need to find somewhere that’s safe for us first,” the Husky agreed. “We don’t want to get separated when we’re still in this mess. We have to change back, together.”

It’s fortunate that nobody understood their conversation, even though some people turned an eye at them and observed these two animals with surprise or interest.

Based on the information from the conversation, it’s easy to tell those two were originally demigods. What did they do and which god they pissed off so they got a punishment like that?

We might have to turn back time a little bit if we want to get the full story.

***

**_~ About twelve months before ~_ **

…

After the defeat of Gaea, Jason was busy traveling around to find and ask all the gods he met about how they want their shrines. He promised that before, and Jason wasn’t the kind of person to forget or deliberately break a promise. Once or twice in a month, he would come back to Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter to restock his supply of ambrosia, nectar, unicorn draught, and some other necessary things.

 

Things went on like that about three months before Jason and Piper broke up.

He still remembered her face on that day when they met at Camp Half-Blood. She was still breathtakingly beautiful with her Cherokee heredity, her hair was longer than the last time he saw her – speak about that, a sudden wave of guilt washed over Jason when he can’t recall the last time they met. But her kaleidoscope eyes weren’t sparking with different colors like usual, just two pools of blackish brown, darkened than normal and filled with sadness, guilt, and regret.

Jason immediately knew something’s not alright.

“We need to talk.”

And yeah, in a relationship, things would never go well when this statement was spoken.

 

Truthfully, Jason didn’t feel too surprised when Piper deadpanned. “I think we should break up.”

He wordlessly stared at her, trying to find some clues of her emotions, even though he wasn’t sure what did he want to find. She was still pretty. Piper is always pretty. Piper is… no, soon enough she _was_ his girlfriend.

She was kind, caring, brave, and all good qualities that someone can find in a girlfriend. Jason was the son of Jupiter, the golden boy, the perfect leader, they said. They were a perfect couple, they also said.

“Why?” He choked out, wasn’t sure why did he ask that. Of course, Jason had some ideas about why, and asking Piper to confirm his thoughts was not really a good move. But he didn’t want to leave things without some words, and he wanted to make it clear, even if it hurt.

“I think you know why,” Piper smiled at him, but her smile was filled with sadness. Jason hurt her, and his heart ached with that realization. “Jason, I love you, I still do. But I don’t see how things can work out between us. We spend too much time apart, and some days I wanted to call you, to ask you how’s going on, but I tried not to. I miss you like hell, but you rarely called me. You care about me, but… not in the way I want. You love me, but not in the way you should. We’re together, but not in the way it means if we’re truly a couple.”

“… I see,” he eloquently replied, an invisible lump was in his throat. “For all it’s worth, I’m sorry. For hurting you. For not loving you in the way I should. For–”

“I know,” she cut him off, waving a hand with a small smile. Her eyes were brimming with tears, but not a single drop ran down her cheeks. “I’m sorry too, Jason. I do not want this. If I could fix this, I’ll do anything I can. But good girlfriends do not charmspeak their boyfriends into something they both know it’s not real. Good girlfriends let their boyfriends go when their relationship can’t last anymore. And I want to be a good girlfriend, even though I don’t think I was truly a good one in our relationship.”

“If we need to blame it on someone, it should be me,” Jason shook his head, tried to smile back at her. He felt numb, and his feelings now were a chaotic mix. “You’re nothing but kind-hearted, supportive, and all the goodness in this world. I don’t deserve you, I shouldn’t treat you like I did. I think I should let you go, too. To find another one that’s better than me, and can love you in the way you want.”

“I couldn’t ask for a better first boyfriend,” she laughed genuinely. “You’re the greatest boy I’ve ever loved, and I’ll still love you, but not in the same way anymore. We could remain as friends, we might not be suitable for a romantic relationship, but I don’t want to lose you as a friend.”

“I don’t want to either,” Jason chuckled. “Can we hug?”

“Yes, we can,” she breathed out, opening her arms. “We’re good now, and we’re still friends. A good beginning for post-breakup.”

Jason hugged her tightly, and his head felt light. They will be good, and he’s glad that they’re still friends.

***

Jason worked even harder after breaking up with Piper. He traveled to a lot of places, trying to find as many gods as he could, and sometimes throwing himself into unexpected battles with monsters. He’s a son of one of the Big Three, his scent’s always attracted more monsters than a normal demigod. Occasionally, Jason came back to one of the Camps with a lot of wounds and injuries, and nobody was happy with that when they saw him. Everyone told him to stop trying so hard and take a break because he could work himself to death before he finishes his promise.

Jason just shrugged, smiled, or subtly avoided that subject, but he didn’t listen to any advice.

…

Eight months passed by quicker than he imagined. He felt like it’s summer again just in a blink of the eye. Good news: no more apocalyptic wars or death prophecies or suicidal quests this time. Bad news: Jason still felt a little bit empty and lonely, like something was missing in his life, and he can’t find out what’s that.

Percy came back to camp, it was his last summer at Camp Half-Blood. He graduated high school – thanks for Paul and Annabeth’s help and devotion, contemplating about taking college in New Rome. Annabeth already submitted her college application, and everybody told her that she’s worried too much because there’s no way a college could reject her brilliant academic results. She calmed down a little bit at that and was waiting for a letter from one of the colleges in New Rome.

Jason was surprised that she and Percy broke up. The last time he saw them, they still looked like they’re joined at the hips. But again, the last time he met both of them was months ago, and a lot of things could happen.

“You should stop your imitation of a goldfish by now,” Percy chuckled at Jason’s shocked expression. “Frank would be proud when he sees your face at this moment.”

Jason scowled at that, “I think you guys are inseparable. Honestly, how did that happen?”

“The perfect couple broke up before us, and nobody saw it coming too,” Percy shrugged. “Talking about that, I don’t know why you and Piper are not together anymore. Both of you look happy with each other. Well, looked, but still.”

“We might be a perfect couple in the past, but perfection is not real and reality is not perfect, and maybe that’s a part of the reasons why did we break up,” Jason looked up at the sky, observing the creamy white clouds above their heads. “And if we’re a perfect couple, you and Annabeth were _the golden couple_. It’s even a higher rank than perfect.”

“If a perfect relationship isn’t real, why do you think a higher one could survive?” Percy sat down next to the son of Jupiter, playing with a rock he picked up on the ground. “Things were… different after Tartarus. I don’t know how, I don’t know when, I don’t know why, it just happened.”

“It sounds suck.”

“The break-up did suck. Kind of. I still love her, and she told me she still loves me. But we’re not in love with each other in the way we did before. Does it make sense to you? I think about it multiple times, and now I’m over it, mostly, but it still doesn’t make sense to me.”

“I don’t know, I might need to think about that,” Jason replied, but he felt a little bit guilty when he knew he wouldn’t think about that. He already had enough problems to care about. “Any other news? I appreciate if we can talk about some good, brighter things.”

“Well, Leo came back, but I guess you already knew it,” Percy turned his head to the left to look at Jason, and the blond nodded. “Calypso forgave me for forgetting her on that island, and I’m glad that she did. The camp named after your daddy…”

“Please don’t refer to Camp Jupiter in that way.” Jason grimaced, cutting the son of Poseidon off.

“Fine, Camp Jupiter,” Percy snickered. “Everybody is good. Frank and Hazel are as cute as usual, and I hope they’re the couple that will last forever, honestly. Two out of three couples on the Argo II broke up and I guess they’re a little bit nervous at first, but they’re good now. Hazel said she’s sorry for our breakups.”

“She doesn’t need to,” the blond shrugged. “And she told me that before. I thanked her anyway, she’s a kind girl.”

“She is,” the son of Poseidon agreed. “Sometimes I still can’t believe she’s related to Nico.”

Jason’s brain stopped for a moment at the mention about the son of Hades. It’s months since the last time Jason saw him. Scratch it, it’s almost a year since the last time the blond saw that kid. Did he keep his promise to stick around, or did he leave? Forever? Jason’s heart swelled at this. Please do not be the latter case.

He felt that guilty feeling again, aching in his chest. He really should care about other people more, especially Nico. That boy had had too many shitty things in his life.

“You talk like Nico’s not a kind person,” Jason snorted, not really satisfied with the way Percy said it, even though he knew the son of Poseidon didn’t mean that at all. “Nico’s one of the most kind-hearted people I have ever met.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean it that way,” Percy grimaced. “What I mean is… well, both of them are kind, brave, powerful, and the list go on. But it’s hard to believe they’re brother and sister. Hazel is warm and cheerful – at least as cheerful as a kid of the Underworld could be – while Nico’s cold and distant. He’s secretive, too, we had a rocky history, but we’re on good terms now. Not that I expected his feeling when he confessed it to me. And rejected me immediately after that by saying _“You’re not my type”_. That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“A lot of things seem like they don’t make sense to you,” Jason noted with a bit of amusement.

“Well, I have good reasons for this!” Percy exclaimed, sounding mildly irritated. “Firstly, he’s the one who had a crush on me, not vice versa! Secondly, when you like someone it means they’re your type, right? How can you like anyone that isn’t your type anyway?! Thirdly, he said he’s over me now but that can’t mean I’m suddenly not his type anymore! And the most frustrating thing is the fact that I can never find out what’s his type because I swear to Gods if anyone works harder and be away longer than you, it could only be Nico! Damn his title as Ambassador of Pluto and his close relationship with his dad, the guy runs errands for Hades more than he should do, it’s not easy to know where and how he is, leave alone meeting and talking to him.”

“You should be honest about the part talking to him, for you now I think it’s mostly mean asking what’s his type.” Jason chuckled at the other’s sudden outburst.

“Okay, I admit that I want to do it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about the guy!” Percy ran a hand over his hair. “When Aphrodite promised to give me an interesting love life, I seriously didn’t think it would turn out like this. Rachel, Calypso, then Nico… I don’t want to be a douchebag but sometimes I think I was when I didn’t realize their feelings, or I forgot them on an island as many others did.”

“You have my sympathy,” the son of Jupiter nodded, Piper’s mother was a goddess that he, or anyone, never wanted to mess with. “But it’s still interesting even after they don’t like you anymore. Like, Nico’s type…”

“Could you stop talking about it?” Percy asked with desperation and irritation. “I don’t think I’ll get over it if we keep talking about it!”

“We seriously need to talk about letting it go,” a voice suddenly joined their conversation, and both Jason and Percy startled at that. If they didn’t know about Nico’s habit of appearing from nowhere, they might be ready for a fight now. “Percy, it’s almost a year. You have to let it go. And nice to meet you, Jason.”

Later, the blond admitted it wasn’t his brightest moment when he just wordlessly stared at the son of Hades, mouth widely opened like his jaws just dropped. Nico stared back at him, he seemed a little bit uncomfortable but he didn’t look away. It’s only when Percy burst out in a laugh that Jason realized what did he do.

“Ah, nice to see you, Nico!” He hastily exclaimed, feeling his cheeks were a little bit hotter. Nico nodded at him, and before the raven-haired boy could say anything, Jason stood up, stepping forward and embracing him in a bone-crushing hug. “I miss you so much, Nico!”

Jason’s strong arms lifted Nico off the ground, and the son of Hades let out a small squeak, but the blond didn’t let him go after ten seconds. Nico hesitated at first, but then he hugged Jason back, and the blond beamed at this, tightening his embrace.

“Jason, I miss you too and all, but if you don’t let me down right now I swear I will punch you square in your face.” Nico’s velvety voice was caring a half-hearted threat, but Jason knew when should he push his luck with Nico or not, so he put the smaller boy down, still grinning widely.

“You look so different! I almost didn’t recognize you, Nico!”

“We haven’t seen each other in a year and I’m growing up,” Nico shrugged. “I hope that you mean you didn’t recognize me because I changed in a good way though.”

“Of course you do!” Jason eyed the boy more carefully, making a satisfied grin. “You gained some weights! And got a little bit taller, too! And you’re not as pale as ghosts anymore! It’s good!”

“But you’re still tiny, compare to us,” Percy chimed in with a mischievous smirk, reaching his hand to ruffle Nico’s hair. “Nice to see you, you tiny Italian.”

Nico glared at the son of Poseidon and quite violently slapped his hand away. At this moment, the two older boys realized his hand was covered in bandages, and Nico didn’t look too good, even though he’s much healthier than he was last summer.

“What happened to your hand?” Percy asked, and Nico immediately stepped back, hiding his hand behind his back like an instinctive reaction.

“Nothing,” he replied, but of course, no one would buy it.

“If it’s nothing then your hand wouldn’t need to be covered in those bandages. What happened?” Jason scowled at the youngest boy, feeling a little bit worry.

“Just some little injuries,” Nico looked away. “Can we change the topic?”

“What are them?” Percy didn’t let it drop.

Nico sighed, “A broken bone, some second-degree burns, and some little scratches,” Nico admitted, his voice was lower as a whisper. “Most of them are healed, don’t worry.”

“That doesn’t sound like “nothing” or even “just some little injuries”,” Jason stared at the son of Hades. “I knew it. The last time you said “scratches”, you referred to those nasty werewolves’ claw marks. We’re not in the middle of stopping some wars anymore, why your self-preservation level doesn’t increase even just a little bit?”

“Jason, I agree with you, but I can say the same for you,” Percy scowled at both of them, turning his head at Nico after giving Jason a pointed look. “Do you know that stupid blond worked his ass out with his shrines-for-all-the-gods project and he’s too noble and idiotic to occasionally take a break from that? We always say he could die before he finishes it if he doesn’t stop that living style.”

“I have too much work,” Jason argued. “And I don’t want to forget anyone, the sooner I finish it the better.”

“You can ask for help,” Percy rolled his eyes. “And don’t even think about telling me nobody will help you. We’re all willing to give you a hand.”

“I don’t want to be a burden for anyone,” Jason shrugged, looking down at the ground. “And everybody has things to do in their lives, you know.”

“You’re sure an idiot.”

“You’re the one with the nickname Seaweed Brain, I don’t think your insult has any effect on me.”

“And you’re so mean too.”

“Both of you can stop this silly competition,” Nico snorted at them. “You’re idiots in equal measures, satisfy?”

“Neeks, it hurts.” Percy put a hand over his chest, gasping dramatically. Jason laughed at his reaction when Nico just rolled his eyes, mumbling something sounded suspicious like _‘I can’t believe those idiots are older than me.’_

“Well, since we’re all together, shall we celebrate it with a small party?” Jason suggested. “It’s hard to gather all of us at Camp these days, everybody’s busy living that peaceful life. Who knows how long will it last, we should enjoy it while we still can.”

“Your words are both encouraging and depressing at the same time,” Percy snorted. “But that’s a good idea. I will notify people here, you guys make a call to Camp Jupiter, okay?”

“Deal.”

…

The party was more than successful.

Everybody was glad to see the others again in New Rome. The road trip to New Rome from Camp Half-Blood wasn’t a very pleasant one when they encountered monsters three times, but they won the fights and came to the city without serious injuries. It still didn’t stop them from getting an earful from Hazel, especially Nico. Jason sympathized with the guy, but another part of him thought the boy deserved this for not contacting with any of them for gods knew how long, and doing such risky things like running errands for Hades like that. They all were well-aware of the fact that Hades would never let Nico into dangerous situations, but they’re still worried that spending too much time in the Underworld with the death wasn’t an ideal living style for anyone, son of Hades or not.

Reyna’s expression was harder than stone at first, but when Nico hugged her and promised that he won’t do any stupid thing like that anymore and he will tell her when he needs to disappear for weeks in the future, her facial’s expression softened before she returned his hug. She nodded at Percy and Jason, shaking their hands, a little bit cold, but that’s not something they didn’t expect before.

The atmosphere got better when Annabeth and Piper both tackled Reyna into a group hug, and then they asked Hazel to join with wide grins on their faces. The girls embraced others with warm smiles, and Reyna relaxed a little bit more than before. Percy suggested to do the same but after receiving an icy glare from Nico, he raised both his arms over his head in a defensive posture and promised that he wouldn’t do it.

They exchanged stories and jokes during the meal. It’s nice to enjoy a peaceful time with friends like that, Jason thought. He missed them so much that he didn’t even realize the fact before he saw all their faces. Maybe his friends were right. He should take a break occasionally and visit them. Demigod life usually didn’t last long compared to a normal person’s, he shouldn’t miss the chances to cherish every moment with his friends.

 

They stayed at New Rome for two more days before the Greek group needed to come back. They planned for another visit to Camp Half-Blood next month, and everybody was happy about it.

…

When they’re back to Camp, Nico invited Jason for a walk.

The blond was surprised at first because let’s be honest here, he knew they’re good friends and they didn’t see each other for a year, so it’s understandable that Nico wanted to catch up with his life personally. But Nico wasn’t the type that normally suggested you for a walk. Anyway, the kid was quite unpredictable, so Jason shrugged and said he would love to do it with Nico.

The son of Hades’ face visibly relaxed when he heard that. “Great. Let’s go.”

 

They chatted for a while, nothing serious and important was spoken. They already knew what the other did during a year without seeing each other, so it’s not like they still had many stories to share. Still, Jason enjoyed the walk and Nico’s presence next to him. The boy was a good company, he’s funny, a good story-teller, and also an excellent listener with smart and unexpected remarks. Jason actually thought he missed Nico more than he could imagine.

When they stopped at a tree, Nico looked at the blond, a glint of challenging in his eyes. “Wanna know who’s the better tree-climber?”

“You’re so on.” Jason grinned and accepted the challenge. Nico snorted at that, putting a hand on the tree and asking the nymph of the tree if they could climb on her tree or not. After receiving her permission, he grinned at the blond. “Let’s start, Jason!”

 

Nico won their little competition after ten minutes.

The boy possessed smaller figure than Jason’s, his body was lithe and he’s swift in movement. Even though Jason’s last name was Grace, he thought Nico’s the more graceful one with actions than him. Not that he wanted to say it out loud, part of the reasons was Nico might give him a funny look, another part was Jason still wanted to avoid puns with his name, deliberately or not.

They sat next to each other on a sturdy branch, carefully to avoid breaking anything with their weights. “The view’s great up here,” Jason commented.

“You don’t say,” Nico smirked. “I like how the winds breeze here. It’s nice.”

Jason looked at the smaller boy when Nico closed his eyes, noticing that he liked the way winds ruffled his hair and caressed his skin. Nico looked significantly healthier than last year, and when he didn’t spend time getting captured by giants or wandering in dangerous environments that only gods know where to destroy his health physically and mentally, he can surprise other people with his appearance.

Nico was once a miserably skinny kid, with a permanent black skin under his eyes, ghostly pale like a ghost, and broken eyes. Now even though some of the misery in his life was still visible if you squinted, most of them had gone. The original olive complexion was back, and some freckles can be seen on his face, that meant he did spend some time under the sun to get tanned. His hair was still long, but it looked even softer than before and Jason suddenly wanted to run his fingers through Nico’s hair, feeling the softness of those curls. His facial structure didn’t change much, but with the additional weights and the improvement in his manners – he smiled more and didn’t get angry easily like he used to, Jason noticed that – Nico looked more attractive than he was. He was adorable, but that adjective might not fit him anymore in the near future. Nico could be hot, in a stunning but dangerous way.

The son of Jupiter blinked at that. Where did that thought come from? It’s not like he paid attention to Nico’s appearance before, but well, he did now, and Jason liked what he saw. The kid was cute, pretty, and undeniably attractive. Jason vaguely thought about Nico’s age. How old was he? 15, maybe. Still had some more years to grow up, and Jason truly believed the son of Hades could be a heartthrob with his appearance.

“Earth to Jason,” Nico’s voice snapped the blond out of his train of thoughts. “What are you thinking? You look lost in thought.”

“Nothing much,” he shook his head. “Just surprise about…” he trailed off, wasn’t sure how should he phrase his words.

“Surprise about what?” Of course, Nico didn’t make it easier for him when he looked at the blond with those big doe eyes, waiting for a reply with genuine interest.

“Well, promise that you won’t be mad at me if I say it out loud,” Jason sighed. Nico raised an eyebrow at that, but gesturing for the blond to keep going. “I think you look attractive.”

“… I don’t think I would be mad at that, it’s a compliment after all,” Nico blinked. “But… I think you’re straight?”

“I don’t know, not even sure about it,” Jason shrugged nonchalantly. “I didn’t have much time to think about my preferences with all the quests and prophecies in our life, do you understand?”

“Got it,” Nico smiled. “Speak about that, how’s going with your project? I heard that you travel around a lot for it, but you refused to ask anybody for help.”

“I already said that I don’t want to put that burden on anyone else’s shoulders.”

“Well if they volunteer to do that with you, you can hardly say it anymore. They’re willing to take a part of the burden,” Nico looked at the sky, biting his lower lip for two seconds before he continued. “Which is one of the things that I did a lot in my life, taking care of others’ burden.”

“Still, I don’t want to make anyone…”

“Jason, you idiot, I’m asking to help you,” Nico sighed at that, turning his head to look at the blond. “And I won’t take ‘no’ as an answer. I’m pretty stubborn, just want to give you a warning first.”

“What if I don’t want you to?” Jason stared back at the son of Hades, a strange feeling of anticipation mixed with unknown uneasiness raised in his chest.

“You’re already an idiot, you don’t need to prove it to me anymore,” Nico snorted. “Even if you say no, I’ll still tag along with you in the next journey. I can shadow travel, and you have to admit that’s a pretty convenient skill. I could make your work easier and quicker. We could go farther when we work with other people, as a leader I think you already knew that.”

“I truly appreciate your offer, but–”

“Did I already warn you that I won’t take ‘no’ as an answer and I’m as stubborn as a mule?”

“But–”

“No buts.”

“I think–”

“You need to stop thinking and just nod your stupid head. We can save a lot of time arguing about that particular issue.”

“Are you sure–”

“I’m deadly serious about that,” Nico cut him off again, irritation laced in his voice. “Screw your reasons, I said that I want to go with you and I will do it, with or without your permission, even though I prefer the former situation.”

“… Fine,” Jason sighed in defeat. “But it’s not a pleasant or fun job, don’t say I didn’t warn your before anything could happen.”

“Please, I run errands for my father in the Underworld and in our world too, I deal with the death on a daily basis, and sometimes being an Ambassador means a challenge for your tolerance,” Nico rolled his eyes. “I could handle asking some gods to do them a favour.”

“Tomorrow we’ll go,” Jason nodded. “That’s the last chance–”

“Shut up, Grace. I’ll be at your cabin at 7.30 A.M. tomorrow. Get your ass ready before that.”

Jason agreed with the black-haired boy.

***

**_~ One hour before the unexpected consequence. ~_ **

…

The first god they met was Aristaeus, the god of bee-keeping, making cheese, herding, growing olives, and hunting. He was quite pleased when they approached him and told him about the plan to build shrines for every god and goddess they could find. Aristaeus just wanted a simple shrine with at least three tributes to remind people about his job, and he wasn’t picky about the decoration or place that he wanted it to be.

 

“He’s nice,” Nico commented after Aristaeus left. “Normally, our Greek gods aren’t that nice. Why aren’t the others like him? It could save us from a lot of dramas and death prophecies.”

“Sadly, there’re not many gods and goddesses like him,” Jason shook his head, writing down the last line into a notebook. “Believe me, I met a lot of other deities which are unbelievable, in a bad way.”

“You make me want to hear the stories.” Nico grinned while looking at the blond. Jason grimaced slightly, then smiled.

“Well, I guess that can wait when we find a proper time to do. Now we should move to another place, I don’t think we could find another god here.”

“Alright, take my hand, I could shadow travel us to somewhere else. Where do you want?” Nico asked, and Jason just shrugged before taking his hand.

“You choose the destination.”

…

Today seemed to be their lucky day when the second deity they met was Chloris, the goddess of flowers and also Zephyrus’s wife. Even though both of them didn’t have very good impression about the god of the west wind, his wife was surprisingly a pleasant goddess. She didn’t want any luxurious or sumptuous shrine, just a nature-friendly decoration one, preferably with a lot of flowers, better if they’re planted there. She even said ‘thanks’ to them before disappearing, leaving behind a bewildered Jason and an amused Nico when the son of Hades smirked at his friend’s reaction.

“Well, I guess bringing you with me is a good choice after all,” Jason sheepishly smiled after giving up his imitation of a goldfish. “It’s not frequent to meet such nice gods and goddesses in a day.”

“As far as I remember, that was me convincing you to let me tag along and threatening you that I’ll still do even if you don’t want me to,” Nico scoffed, shaking his head slightly. “You’re an idiot, Grace.”

“You’re willing to do this idiot’s work with him, that says something about you.”

Nico replied him with a hard punch on his forearm. “We’d better go.”

…

They found the third deity when they’re back in New York. It’s about 5 or 6 P.M. and people started to get out of skyscrapers to come back home.

At the first look, nobody would think the homeless-looking girl with filthy clothes and mud-stained skin is a goddess. She was a young girl in teenage years, only 13 – 14 years old, with long platinum hair that reached her knees, and it might look pretty and silky if she could take care of it properly instead of letting various kinds of dirt stick on her hair. She had a strange complexion, and Jason can’t tell it’s because of the mud on her skin or the ghostly yellowish and pinkish white tone. Her clothes were as dirty as the rest of her appearance, and they didn’t know it’s a part of her godly nature or she was just too lazy to do laundry. She was petting a small stray cat, and when they approached the girl, she looked up, her eyes widened at them when the cat hissed and ran away.

“Wait!” She yelled, but the stray animal already left. The girl pouted before standing up, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “You guys made him run away!”

“Sorry about that,” Jason sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “May I ask… are you a goddess?”

“… How can you know that?” The girl scrutinized them suspiciously. “I’m sure that I did a lot of things to cover my nature. You’re not normal people, are you?”

“No, we’re demigods,” Jason replied to her when Nico squinted his eyes at the girl’s odd eyes. She didn’t possess kaleidoscope eyes like Piper… or maybe she did, but her eyes were the most beautiful thing on her face, the two irises had different colors and they’re vibrant to look at: one was amethyst violet with dark red-purple ring on the outline, when the other was electric blue mixed with emerald green, both of them were tinted with golden flickers. “One of our parents is a god, the other is a mortal.”

The girl snorted, she seemed unimpressed. “That explains a lot. I hate adults when they having kids and then abandoning them for the favor of finding new lovers. Filthy.”

Both Nico and Jason secretly agreed with her. Things were much worse four years ago, and even they’re better now, it’s not like they’re happy with all the neglection. And did she say she hated adults? Maybe that’s why the girl kept a teenage appearance, but still, they had no clue who she was.

“I’m sorry that I can’t recognize you, but which goddess you are?” Nico politely questioned, and the girl glanced at him, her eyes were softening, but the mischievous fire was dancing in those captivating irises made him feel wary.

“It’s okay, to be honest, I don’t want to be recognized, but since you already approach me, I guess telling you couldn’t hurt. I’m… well, I don’t actually have one name. Fifty years ago I liked the name Carissa so I told people to call me that. Twenty years ago I changed it to Halina. Now I guess I’m Leandra. But sometimes people call me Leona or Laz. I don’t mind.” She shrugged like that’s not a big deal.

“And… your godly aspects, may I ask?” Jason added. Leandra scrunched her nose. She’s actually pretty if you could ignore all the dirt and mud that she let them cover her body and focus on her original facial features instead.

“I’m the goddess of stray creatures,” she sighed. “I used to be the patron goddess of abused and abandoned children, but I guess I didn’t want to deal with humans that much, so I deliberately ignore that. Some other gods already took care of that, so now I’m just a goddess of stray animals.”

That can explain why she was petting a stray cat when they found her. Still, a goddess that liked animals more than human? Well, that’s new, even though in the Greek mythology they had tons of stories about nature-related deities, but they still connected with humans in some ways.

“So, what do you need from me?” She asked, looking mildly annoyed. “I guess you have something that you want to tell me, but you’d better not waste my time, I still have a lot of strays I need to take care of.”

“Well, I’m sorry about that, this won’t take much time, I promise,” Jason took out his note. “The thing is, we’re traveling to find gods and goddesses to ask them about how do they want their shrines built. Leandra, I want your opinions about your shrine and we’ll try our best to do it for you.”

“Shrine?” Leandra repeated, her eyes narrowed. “Like, a place that people can worship the owner?”

“Exactly,” Jason nodded, smiling at the small girl. “So, how do you like yours?”

“I don’t want to have a shrine!” The girl exclaimed with irritation and annoyance, making Jason and Nico stare at her with bewildered eyes. “I don’t want to be worshipped!”

“… Are you sure?” Jason cautiously questioned, staring at the platinum-haired girl. “Greek gods and goddesses exist because they’re worshipped by people that believe in them. They get stronger when more people know about them and respect them.”

“Well if that’s 100% true, I’m sure that I can’t have a body by now, just a thin stretch of nothingness.” The girl scoffed, waving her hand at them. “I don’t want a shrine, you’d better use your time to ask someone else. Goodbye.”

“But Leandra, I promise to build shrines for all the gods and goddesses, and I don’t want you to feel that you’re left out!” Jason almost begged the small girl. “You should at least think about it thoroughly, please!”

“Well you didn’t promise that to me, and I already said that I don’t want one!” She screamed back at them, her voice laced with anger and irritation. “Find someone else with a bigger ego to bother, I don’t fucking care!”

“Leandra, I don’t understand your stubbornness, it’s good for you, don’t you think so?” Jason tried to convince the little goddess. “If people know there’s a goddess out there that is taking care of stray animals, they might want to help you, and the number of strays could decrease! Less work for you, and they could be taken care of better, do you think so?”

“No!” Leandra growled, seeming like she finally lost her patience with them. “I don’t need some filthy creatures to take care of my job. I do it fine by myself. And are you some strays to understand how those vulnerable animals feel? You’re frigging demigods, you can’t understand a thing! Leave me and my strays alone!”

“But–”

Nico grabbed Jason’s arm when he took a step forward, but it’s already too late. Leandra was glowing with a red light of fury, her voice was colder when she snapped. “Fine! I give you so many chances to back off but you’re just as stubborn as I am! Have fun being two of the strays on New York streets for some days, you annoying demigods!”

She pointed her index finger at them, and everything turned white for a split second.

**…**

..

.

So there are some pictures about how I imagine Jason as a Maine Coon and Nico as a Husky.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, fyi, Aristaeus and Chloris are two real Greek gods, but Leandra, or Laz, is my original character.


End file.
